Public schools in this country must enroll all students who show up at their doors regardless of their interest in learning. What happens if some of these students begin to disrupt the classroom? The Cassville School District in Missouri decided to use corporal punishment (“Missouri School District Brings Back Paddling to Discipline Its Students,” huffpost.com, Aug 25).
Parents in the district support this approach because they don’t want their children suspended. I assume that these miscreants have already been counseled and that counseling has not worked. Yet studies have shown that corporal punishment rarely works and that it can exacerbate matters.
I understand the anger and frustration that school officials feel. They don’t want their schools to become blackboard jungles like some public schools in other parts of the country. But I advise them to try other means.
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